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Gainsharing

At the end 2006,
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will be
conducting two gainsharing demonstration programs in an attempt to improve
patient care and generate greater efficiencies for hospitals. The gainsharing
demos, if properly structured, would provide financial incentives to physicians
for enhanced clinical practices that improve patient outcomes.

MDMA's concern is
that the demonstration programs may be structured in way that would encourage
physicians to limit the kinds of medical devices used in treating patients or
to limit actual care. Doctors would then receive a percentage of the total cost
"savings." MDMA will continue to educate lawmakers, the
Administration, and the industry on the pitfalls of device contract gainsharing
(DCG) and oppose any attempts to implement device contract gainsharing.

What is MDMA doing?

MDMA has been busy
educating members of Congress and the Administration about the risks of DCG
arrangements and has organized multiple fly-ins for its members and other stakeholders to meet with lawmakers. MDMA is the only device association that
has been actively opposed to any gainsharing demonstration project that
included devices. Many of MDMA's member companies also participate in the
association's gainsharing task force, providing input, shaping policy, and
playing an important role with efforts in Washington. Lawmakers must hear from
device manufacturers and physicians - device contract gainsharing will be
dangerous for patients and detrimental to the future of device development. If
sanctioned, DCG will decrease quality for patient care, compromise the
physician-patient relationship, and stifle innovation driven by smaller,
entrepreneurial medical device companies.